Nomenclatural and Taxonomic Notes on Names of Hawaiian Coccinellidae (Coleoptera)

Hawaii has a long and successful history of coccinellid introductions for biological control of pest insects and powdery mildew. This paper discusses the names of five established species (Chilocorus nigrita (Fabricius), Hippodamia quinquesignata ambigua LeConte, Psyllobora vigintimaculata (Say), Sasajis- cymnus anomalus (Chapin), and Scymnus ambulans Blackburn), giving spelling corrections, changed generic combinations, and one new combination (Sasajis- cymnus anomalus (Chapin), n. comb.) to allow accurate usage of these names in the Hawaiian literature. Justification is also provided for the use of Hyperaspis pantherina Fursch which, until Nishida (2002), appeared in Hawaiian literature as Hyperaspis jocosa (Mulsant)

Rosy Apple Aphid

NYS IPM Type: Fruits IPM Fact SheetThe rosy apple aphid (RAA) can be found throughout the apple growing regions of North America. In the spring, the aphids feed on apple leaves and fruits, and in the summer move to alternate hosts, such as narrow-leaved plantain. The RAA will attack all apple varieties, but varieties such as Cortland, Monroe, Rhode Island Greening, Ida Red, and Golden Delicious are particularly susceptible

Asymmetric radiating brane-world

At high energies on a cosmological brane of Randall-Sundrum type, particle interactions can produce gravitons that are emitted into the bulk and that can feed a bulk black hole. We generalize previous investigations of such radiating brane-worlds by allowing for a breaking of Z_2-symmetry, via different bulk cosmological constants and different initial black hole masses on either side of the brane. One of the notable features of asymmetry is a suppression of the asymptotic level of dark radiation, which means that nucleosynthesis constraints are easier to satisfy. There are also models where the radiation escapes to infinity on one or both sides, rather than falling into a black hole, but these models can have negative energy density on the brane.Comment: sign error in eq. (34) corrected; version to appear Phys. Rev.

Potential for Thermal Enhancement by Quercetin Mediated Mechanisms Targeting p53 Antagonists in Human Melanoma Cells

Introduction: Recently Temozolomide (TMZ) has become the more commonly used analog of DTIC-related oral agents. Although the response rates achieved by TMZ alone are less than satisfactory, there is great interest in identifying compounds that could be used in combination therapy. We have previously demonstrated that the bioflavonoid quercetin (Qct) promotes a p53-mediated response in melanoma and sensitizes melanoma to DTIC. Here we demonstrate that Qct also sensitizes cells to TMZ by a mechanism that involves the modulation of a truncated p53 family member, ΔNp73. Society for Thermal Medicine Annual Meeting April 23-26, Clearwater Beach, FL

Control of Glycolytic Flux by AMPK and p53-mediated Signaling Pathways in Tumor Cells Grown at Low pH

Introduction: Tumor cells grow in nutrient and oxygen deprived microenvironments and adapt to the suboptimal growth conditions by altering metabolic pathways. This adaptation process characteristically results in a tumor phenotype that displays upregulated Hif-1α anaerobic glycolysis, chronic acidification, reduced rate of overall protein synthesis, lower rate of cell proliferation and aggressive invasive characteristics. Most transplantable tumors exhibit a pHe of 6.7- 7.0; the DB-1 melanoma xenografts used here have a pHe=6.7. Understanding tumor cell reaction to the microenvironment is a critical factor in predicting the tumor response to radiotherapy. The glucose regulatory molecule, 6-Phosphofructo-2-Kinase/Fructose-2,6- Biphosphatase Isoform-3 (PFKFB3), is a bifunctional enzyme central to glycolytic flux and downstream of the metabolic stress sensor AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which we show activates an isoform of phosphofructokinase (PFK-2). Radiation Research Society (RRS) 8th Annual Meeting September 25-29, Maui, H

Control of Glycolytic Flux by AMPK and p53-Mediated Signaling Pathways in Tumor Cells Adapted to Grow at Low pH

Introduction: Tumor cells grow in nutrient and oxygen deprived microenvironments and adapt to the suboptimal growth conditions by altering metabolic pathways. This adaptation process characteristically results in a tumor phenotype that displays anaerobic glycolysis, chronic acidification and aggressive tumor characteristics. Understanding the tumor cell reaction to the microenvironment is a critical factor in predicting the tumor response to hyperthermia. The glucose regulatory molecule, 6-Phosphofructo-2-Kinase/Fructose-2,6-Biphosphatase Isoform-3 (PFKFB3), is a bifunctional enzyme central to glycolytic flux and downstream of the metabolic stress sensor AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which has been shown to activate an isoform of Phosphofructokinase (PFK-2). Society for Thermal Medicine Annual Meeting April 23-26, Clearwater Beach, FL

Hot dense capsule implosion cores produced by z-pinch dynamic hohlraum radiation

Hot dense capsule implosions driven by z-pinch x-rays have been measured for the first time. A ~220 eV dynamic hohlraum imploded 1.7-2.1 mm diameter gas-filled CH capsules which absorbed up to ~20 kJ of x-rays. Argon tracer atom spectra were used to measure the Te~ 1keV electron temperature and the ne ~ 1-4 x10^23 cm-3 electron density. Spectra from multiple directions provide core symmetry estimates. Computer simulations agree well with the peak compression values of Te, ne, and symmetry, indicating reasonable understanding of the hohlraum and implosion physics.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Drug Interactions with Glutaredoxin Orthologues

Glutaredoxin, an enzymatic protein, is an important component of cell viability and function. It catalyzes reactions involved in DNA synthesis and innate immunity [1,4]. Glutaredoxin is also essential in antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacterial species. Pseudomonas aeruginosa in particular is responsible for infecting the lung tissue of its human hosts, resulting in the development of pneumonia and cystic fibrosis [3]. Because glutaredoxin is pertinent in cell proliferation of eukaryotic and bacterial cells alike, medicinal fragments that take advantage of the subtle differences in protein structure of the orthologous proteins can be synthesized and enhanced to bind bacterial glutaredoxins, without inhibiting the function of the human form. This can be accomplished by exploiting the mechanisms of fragment based drug discovery using NMR techniques. A library of small potential medicinal fragments are screened against each protein to determine which interact, or bind most efficiently to the bacterial orthologues with little to no interaction with eukaryotic cells. To confirm the ability of select fragments hits to kill bacterial cells without harming human cells, MTT and MIC assays are performed to determine what concentration of fragment is needed to obtain desired therapeutic results [6,7]. These assays were performed against selected lead fragments, particularly RK207 and RK395, which can be structurally enhanced to bind even more to the bacterial orthologues. This research can potentially lead to the development of drug targets against bacterial orthologues of glutaredoxin to treat life threatening diseases caused by pathogenic species

In vitro transactivation of Bacillus subtilis RNase P RNA

AbstractDeletion of the ‘signature’ PL5.1 stem-loop structure of a Type II RNase P RNA diminished its catalytic activity. Addition of PL5.1 in trans increased catalytic efficiency (kcat/KM) rather than kcat. Transactivation was due to the binding of a single PL5.1 species per ribozyme with an apparent Kd near 600 nM. The results are consistent with the role of PL5.1 being to position the substrate near the active site of the ribozyme, and with the hypothesis that ribozymes can evolve by accretion of preformed smaller structures